NEW ROCHELLE, NY — After a 13 road games to open the season, the Iona University baseball team opened its home slate with two games against the College of Holy Cross on Saturday afternoon. The Gaels took a 11-3 victory in the opening contest before the Crusaders grabbed a 7-4 win in the second game at City Park.
GAME ONE: IONA 11, HOLY CROSS 3
The Crusaders opened the contest with two RBI walks with the bases loaded in the top of the first for the early advantage.
Iona got going in the fourth as senior
James Kemp led off the frame with a walk. Freshman
Carter Groen then was plunked by a pitch to give the Gaels two runners on. Graduate student
Garret Gray stepped to the plate and lined a two-run double down the right field line to tie the game. He advanced to third on the throw at the plate and would score in the next at bat as freshman
Kyle McSorley recorded the RBI groundout for the 3-2 lead.
The Gaels had another big inning in the sixth loading the bases with two outs. Sophomore
Anthony Zollo roped a three-run double down the left field line to give the Gaels a four-run cushion. Sophomore
Josiah Ragsdale drove him in on an RBI single to right field for the 7-2 advantage.
Four more runs came across the dish in the eighth for Iona. Junior
Carson Cahoy had a RBI single bunt in front of the dish. Ragsdale picked up a sacrifice fly to center field and then Cahoy scored on a wild pitch to add to the team total. Kemp capped the scoring with an RBI single to right field.
Junior
Andrelys Payamps recorded the win for the Gaels surrendering just two runs on four hits in five innings of work. Freshman
Kyle Hard recorded three innings of relief surrendering just one run and junior
Matt Zguro closed the door with two strikeouts in the ninth.
GAME TWO: HOLY CROSS 7, IONA 4
Holy Cross once again struck first, this time with a two-run home run in the opening frame. But Iona was right there to answer.
Ragsdale and junior
Jayson Gonzalez recorded back-to-back singles with one-out in the first. Kemp drove in the first run on an RBI single through the right side. Groen gave the Gaels four straight singles with his RBI base knock to right field to knot the game up 2-2.
Holy Cross broke the standstill in the fifth on a two-run double to left field. The Crusaders grabbed another run in the sixth on a double to right field for a 5-2 lead.
A RBI single to centerfield and a two-out to center gave the visitors a 7-2 favor in the eighth.
Groen lined an RBI triple down the right field line to get the Gaels going in the bottom of the eighth. He would score on a sacrifice fly by junior
Anthony Febo to cut the deficit to three at 7-4.
Looked to put together a late rally in the ninth as Ragsdale and Gonzalez recorded two-out singles but Holy Cross ended the game with a groundout to take the game.
Freshman
Brendan Callanan pitched four and two third innings in the start for Iona. Junior
Carl Kuentzel pitched a scoreless final two innings of relief surrendering just one hit.
NOTABLE NUGGETS
- The Gaels offense posted 20 hits combined in the two games on Saturday.
- Four batters posted multiple hits in game one as Zollo, Ragsdale, Gray and Cahoy all recorded two hits.
- Zollo drove in three runs for the second time in his career.
- The top six in the order combined for 10 of Iona's 11 hits in game two as Ragsdale added two hits along with Gonzalez, Kemp and Groen.
- Groen registered the first multi-RBI game of his career with two runs batted in.
UP NEXT
The Gaels look for the series win on Sunday in the series finale against the Crusaders with a noon start at City Park.
